* * * *
Rose settled behind her desk and began to work. Her thoughts drifted back to Draven. It had felt so right, so comfortable to walk around the desk and give him a goodbye with a kiss. Placing an elbow on the desk, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and sighed.
I’m acting like we’re in a relationship. Like we’re dating. This isn’t typical in the least.
“Okay, what’s got that pensive look on your face? I was gonna suggested we go raid Mina’s candy stash, but you look like you need some girl talk.” Katey, her new boss, sat on the corner of her desk and handed her a piece of chocolate.
Rose opened her mouth and then shut it, not sure what to say to her. This woman was her boss. They’d known each other a few hours.
How can I possibly tell her about my issues?
“Is it Draven? Is he being an ass? I can skin him in five seconds flat.” Katey proceeded to shock her by unsheathing the largest claws she’d ever seen, each about an inch and half long, curved and wicked. “Cat shifter. Don’t worry, he’ll heal. Now tell me what’s up? Don’t worry, you won’t be fired. I actually like having another woman in Manville.”
She gestured around her and for the first time, Rose noticed there weren’t a lot of women milling around the P.R. department. There were only four of them out of fifteen members of the staff.
“How did you know?” Rose asked.
Katey tapped her nose. “Shifter. We know scents, and his is all over you. Don’t worry, no one cares. See those two?” She nodded toward two men milling around the water cooler. “Fucking like bunnies whenever they get a chance. Now, if they’d only let me watch, I’d be such a happy kitty They think we don’t know ‘cause you know, they’re like human and all that.” Katey rolled her eyes. “Scent is how we know who to stay the fuck away from and who is friendly and what not. Very, very helpful in a dangerous situation. Anyway, what’s up chicken pup? Ignore that. I’ve got a weird child staying with me. I swear to the goddess if my sister doesn’t come get her kid, I’m never gonna be able to look at porn again. So spill.” Katey unwrapped another chocolate. Her body language was relaxed as if she had all day to sit there rather than run the Public Relations department.
“It’s just so natural. We’ve only been seeing each other a day, already had sex, and I’m okay with it. Shouldn’t I be freaking out? He’s the Mayor, for Christ sake, and to top that off, a vampire.” Tingles raced along her pussy lips, reminding her of her time in his office.
“Do you feel like you should run screaming into the night? Do you feel shame for what you did?” Katey readjusted her position on the desk and dug into her pocket, drawing out a handful of chocolates. She dropped them on Rose’s desk and dug through the small foil wrapped treats. “Does it matter that he’s a vampire and you’re human or that he’s Mayor?”
After unwrapping the foil, she popped it into her mouth. Her gaze never left Rose’s face. Cat green eyes peered at her unblinking as Katey chewed. Taking the silence that had fallen between as thinking time, Rose pondered her situation.
“I don’t feel like running. I’m quite comfortable where we are right now. I guess I feel like we’ve skipped from courting right to commitment and bed.” Rose reached over and plucked a chocolate for herself.
“And totally understandable. It’s not the normal flow you’re used to, but if it works, it works. Anything else on your mind? Can we get to the Ball and what he said about it, or did you two fruck like bunnies?” Katey grinned.
Ignoring the last comment, Rose showed her the files. “He liked where we wanted to go with it, but we still need to give them a reason to stay past the Ball. So we gear our ad campaigns to the different groups we want to lure here.”
“Which is gonna give the budget elves a fit. I can hear them now, ‘you want to spend how much for that? Why can’t you use photos and magic?’ And I’ll say, ‘because magic doesn’t show up well on camera.’ Research budget friendly ways to make the masters of number crunching not want to go all Legolas on my ass.” Gathering up the rest of the chocolate, Katey left her desk.
Rose felt a bit better about her current situation with Draven, but deep in her gut, she couldn’t throw off the sense that something was wrong.
Chapter Eight
“So far, no other bodies have shown up, and all we have are a few hazy accounts from drunks of everything from Jack the Ripper to a giant bat. We’ve increased police patrols, and the local wolf packs have lent us some of their men to help with security and watching tourist areas. We found the inns and hotels where the victims were staying, but no evidence of break ins. I’ve got the crime lab looking over the scene to make sure we didn’t miss anything. The newspapers, websites and magazines have put out their stories and we’ve got nothing. On the upside, the public is royally pissed. There’s a lot of talk of telling the Council to go fuck themselves and all that loveliness.”
Draven heard Torger’s smile through the phone. “Good. If the Council wants to shut this town down they’re gonna have a fight on their hands. That and too many governments are already pissed with them about the dictates. Too many rules about having a paranormal town or city, not to mention the rules of interaction with us. I got a call from the Governor, and he just wants to say fuck it and open trade with us fully to help bolster the economy.”
“I’d say go for it, but I’m not you. I’ll update you if there are any developments. If Hamilcar is right, then we’re dealing with a professional who knows how to clean up after himself. I’ve been looking through murders similar to this and nothing jumps out at me. I’m calling in a specialist in serial killings from Washington to look this over, agreed?” Torger’s eager tone was infectious.
Draven felt the call of the hunt to find this person and make them feel the pain they’d inflicted on those three innocent people. “Agreed. Tonight’s the full moon, my friend. Be safe. I’ll be out in the woods with my mate.”
“We’ll steer clear of you. Have fun.” Torger hung up, leaving Draven smiling.
The day was looking up. Despite feeling tired, he couldn’t wait to spend time with Rose.
Rose.
A smile tugged at his lips, lifting them up. A sense of contentment radiated outward from his chest to envelop his whole body. New energy poured into him. He gathered up his paperwork and subsequently headed out of his office and down to the floor where the P.R. department was located. He found Rose at her desk shuffling papers.
“Ready? I have to drop you off at your apartment.” Draven didn’t mind this one bit. He sensed her unease despite her relaxed posture.
“Thanks, I need to get some clothes. Unless—” She stopped to look at him, indecision in her eyes.
“Unless?” He wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but had a feeling what the subject was.
“Unless, you don’t want me to stay over tonight?” Rose ducked her head. The heat of embarrassment rose up between them, and he smiled.
“It’s up to you, honey.” Stepping closer, he wrapped an arm around her, not caring who saw. He lowered his head, nuzzled her neck, and breathed in her perfume. “I’d love for you to stay tonight.”
“For Christ’s sake, get a room you two! Bad enough I’m not getting any.” Katey wedged a hand in between them and slipped in front of Draven. “I love my job. Anyway, before you go, check this out.” Katey handed Rose a piece of paper. Delight filled her face, making her eyes shine. Her full lips parted in a full grin as a squeal of excitement pierced the air. “I know, right? Like ohmygod, we can so pull this off. Those little number crunchers can kiss my furry ass!” Katey punched the air with a fist and hugged Rose.
“Uh, what’s going on?” Draven stepped closer and peered around Katey’s head.
“The couple that owns the castle is giving it to us for the Ball free of charge. And the interior designer is also working for free. They’re all pissed about the serial killer business and the possible Council invasion. Oooh, when we get mad.” Katey high fived Rose. “Now if only we can work something out on food and we’re set; we just need music and a few other things. Have fun. I’m off to go stick it to the accountants.”
Katey took back the file and slid out from in front of Draven.
“She’s quite the excitable cat, isn’t she?” Rose slid her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “Oh! I don’t hear a heartbeat.”
She gazed up at him in shock. He ran a hand through her hair. “Vampire, remember? I need to feed.”
She shuddered against him, and he sucked in a breath. Rose slid a hand around his waist to trail down his stomach. He let out a small gasp when she pressed her palm against his groin. Tilting her head back, she pouted up at him. “No erection. We’ll have to fix that.”
“Will we now?” He raised an eyebrow and rubbed her back. “How?”
“Tonight at the picnic, you’ll have to feed from me,” she whispered.
She showed no fear or reservation. The statement slipped past her lips as easy as taking a breath.
“You sure? I can drink a blood bag. Maybe this is for the best, no sex.” He rushed to put her at ease and make her feel as if she wasn’t obligated to do anything.
“I offered, didn’t I?” Rose stepped out of his arms and gathered up her things.
“You’re not comfortable with something. I can sense it.” As much as he didn’t want to bring that small point up, he felt he had to.
“Vampire sense tingling?” she teased.
“Rose—” he started.
“We’ll talk at the picnic. For now, I need to shower and change and put together an overnight bag. Let’s go, big boy. Daylight’s wasting.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. A sinking feeling began in his gut as he saw this perfect moment with her begin to splinter.
What if she wants to leave me?
The drive to her apartment was heavy with silence and things unsaid. Whenever he opened his mouth to say something, he shut it again. For the first time in centuries, he was terrified of loss. He’d always racked up death and loss to a fact of life but now, he had something precious he wanted to keep for as long as she’d allow him to. It felt as if the time was shorter than he’d thought it would be.
Two days. That’s all we had before it fell apart.
As he pulled into an empty parking spot, she unbuckled her belt, leaned over the console, and slipped a finger under his chin. He allowed her to turn his face toward hers, even though he was scared. She placed a soft kiss on his lips. He let out a sigh.
“I won’t be long. Come back in say an hour. That’s more than enough time to get what I need done. And stop acting like you just saw Old Yeller, please.” With another kiss, she opened the car door and slipped out.
He sat in shock, watching her walk into the building. No one had ever been so attuned to his moods, and certainly not when they’d known him for two days.
* * * *
Rose made her way through her apartment. She kicked off her shoes and sighed in relief at the freedom her toes now had. Her thoughts trailed back to Draven’s statement about something bothering her. He was right, as much as she hated to admit it. The blood donor thing didn’t bother her; it excited her, turned her on. She could deal with dating a vampire, and as for being the Mayor’s arm candy, strangely enough, she didn’t mind that either. It was the pace of the relationship that poked at her.
The phone rang at the same time she entered her bedroom. Hoping it was Draven, she answered without looking at the caller ID. “Honey, I’m not even showered yet. Please don’t tell me you want phone sex now. I don’t think this handset is waterproof.”
“TMI! Oh—my—God, TMI. When the hell’d you become so kinky? Next you’ll be talking about anal plugs, lube and public sex. Speaking of which, you dirty woman, when are you gonna get some time off? I have some vacay time coming up and want to crash with you.”
Rose let out a girlish squeal and began to laugh. “Sabrina. It’s so good to hear your voice. Where have you been this time? Milan? Paris? Hawaii?”